Miss Mephistopheles: A Novel: (Sequel to Madame Midas.)
David Hume · en
"Faust Upset" had been put into rehearsal at once, and three weeks
after the murder of Lazarus it was to be produced. Mortimer had
hurried on the production of the burlesque with the uttermost speed,
as "Prince Carnival" was now playing to empty houses. The Bon-Bon
company were kept hard at work, and, what with rehearsals during the
day, the performance of the opera-bouffe in the evening, and
rehearsals afterwards till two in the morning, they were all pretty
well worn-out.
In spite of Kitty's indomitable spirit, she was looking haggard and
ill, for the incessant work was beginning to tell on her system. The
doctor told her plainly that she was killing herself, and that
absolute rest was what she required; but in spite of those warnings
she never gave herself a moment's peace.
"I don't care two straws if I die," she said recklessly to Dr.
Chinston; "I've made arrangements for the future of my child, and
there's nothing else for me to live for."
She was determined to make the burlesque a success, and worked hard
at rehearsals getting the author and composer to alter some things,
and cut out others, making several valuable suggestions as to
stage-management, and in every way doing her best. But though friendly
towards Keith, yet he was conscious of a kind of reserve in her manner
towards him, and thought it was due to the knowledge that he was
engaged to Eugénie.
He had become reconciled to his sweetheart, and she went down every
day to teach Meg at Toorak. It had been arranged that in three months
she was to go to England with Meg, and Kitty guaranteed to pay a
certain sum annually for the salary of the governess and the
maintenance of the child. Of course Eugénie never meant to take any
money, as she had become strongly attached to Meg, but still kept up
her semblance of poverty till such time as she judged it fit to tell
Keith. Meanwhile, in spite of Keith's opposition, she lived with
Caprice, and led a very quiet life, for what with the state of her
health and constant rehearsals, Kitty gave no Sunday receptions.
But while Stewart fumed and fretted over the fact of his sweetheart
staying with a woman of bad character like Caprice, and attended to
all the rehearsals of the burlesque, Naball was silently winding his
net round him. The detective had made inquiries at the Skylarks' Club,
and found that Keith had been there on that night, in the company of
Fenton. On discovering this, he went to Fenton and discovered that
Stewart had lent the American the knife with which the crime had been
committed, to cut the wires of a champagne bottle, and afterwards
slipped it into his coat pocket. From the club he went to the Bon-Bon
Theatre, and, as the detective knew from Keith's own admission, had
left there at half-past twelve.
"And then," said Naball to himself, "he told me he wandered about the
streets till two o'clock, and then saw Villiers--rubbish--he went
straight to Russell Street and committed the crime."